i have been searching for a decently priced keyboard that isn't cheaply made and has a piano-like feel. this is that keyboard! i read a lot of reviews and found that this one seemed to have most of what i wanted. the only thing it doesn't have, which i didn't find important is a record button. it does have piano lessons, a lot of songs to choose from, a ton of sounds and styles to play with, full size piano keys, its own speakers and a built in metronome. the only thing is lacks is its own power adaptor. i was actually going to order this on amazon and saw it for $79.99 at best buy, the power adaptor was $9.99, also at best buy. so other than the price on here, i love this keyboard!

This keyboard would be wonderful for learners like the other reviewers have stated. Being someone who took countless years of lessons and is used to a real piano, this does not compare. I borrowed another yamaha keyboard before getting this one and i noticed a lot of differences.

Pros-
The fun sounds are great, it has a lot of songs and special voices, but the only one i really will ever use is grand piano. I found the ability to change the metronome's time signature difficult to figure out without the manual, but was very glad that i could do it. i really love that feature to help keep me on the perfect beat system every time.
Cons-
i hate that all the defaults reset every time you turn the power off. i cannot STAND that the volume always defaults to loud. I wish it had a turn-knob to set the volume reasonably and ready for use when you turn it on. Also, the reverb is automatically on. At first use, i thought the keyboard had a crappy tinny sound that echoed, but it was the fault of the reverb being on... which is a default. It also does not come with an ac adapter. Who wants to buy 6 batteries at a time for this monster? Another con starts with the fact that this keyboard has 102 songs in it. The problem is... the list is on page 20 of the manual. I wish they would have included a card with them listed on it or printed them right on the keyboard like on past models. If i am looking for a song i'm not going to pull out the manual nor flip through 102 intros to find it. This is the same for reverb types and voices which are listed on various pages of the manual.

Untill few weeks back I was an absolute 'monkey with a piano', I decided to take some lessons and my teacher recommended me a Yamaha with a metronome. I grabbed this one from a local Circuit City and I've been quite pleased with it since then.

Pros:
- Nicely priced
- Keys feel good when pressed (doesn't feel like cheap plastic)
- Built in metronome (you need it if you are new to piano/keyboard)
- Decent display that can display the musical notations as you play along
- Great learning features with lots of inbuilt songs (keys are displayed on the screen as you play along - works at your speed and can be split into either right or left hand or both - nice way to learn)
- Around 370 built in voices
- 61 keys (enough to start practicing with)
- DVD included which tells about basics of this piano (features of this piano NOT how to play)
- Light weight if you want to carry it around
- Input for sustain pedal (need to buy it separately)
--Overall nicely designed with other features)

Cons:
- Doesn't sound like piano but then I'm just learning
- You cannot control loudness/softness, I mean in a piano if you strike a key softly the sound produced will be different from when you strike the same key hard (loud), in this Yamaha there is no such distinction, sound produced is always the same irrespective of the way key is pressed (this should not matter much to a beginners)
- Power adapter not included, you need to buy it separately
- Notes(music) for inbuilt songs are not included, it would have been very nice if you can have them - makes practicing easier.

Overall, this is a nice keyboard for beginners but as you practice along and you are serious about learning you will outlive its usability and may need to upgrade to higher model or a piano :-) .... but if are a beginner like me look no further.

Also, if you are serious about learning piano try this book:
'Alfred Basic Adult Piano Course Level 1" with CD.....great book for beginners.. good luck

I just started piano lessons and picked this keyboard up on sale. My teacher recommended the Yamaha over Casio for better sound and reliability, so I took her advice and picked this up as an entry-level practice keyboard. The sound is excellent (to my untrained ears at least), there are lots of useful features, and you really can't beat the price. Its built-in teaching aids have been VERY useful to me as I learn, especially the display that shows the note you're playing along with the key you're pressing. I recommend this keyboard to any beginner without hesitation.